A cosmetic product goes straight onto someone’s skin, lips, or hair, so how it is made matters as much as what goes into it. A clean recipe means little if the factory that produces it is contaminated, badly documented, or run without controls. ISO 22716:2007 exists to make sure the manufacturing itself meets a recognised standard.
This page explains what ISO 22716:2007 is, how TNV Inspection Division uses it as a reference standard for inspection, and exactly how we inspect a cosmetics facility against it. TNV is a UAF accredited inspection body operating under ISO/IEC 17020:2012, and inspecting manufacturing facilities against defined standards is the work we do.
What Is ISO 22716:2007?
ISO 22716:2007 is the international standard for Good Manufacturing Practices in cosmetics. Its full title is Cosmetics — Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) — Guidelines on Good Manufacturing Practices. It gives guidelines for the production, control, storage, and shipment of cosmetic products.
In simple terms, it describes how a cosmetics operation should be run so that product quality is built in rather than hoped for. It treats GMP as the practical side of quality assurance: plant activities based on sound scientific judgement and risk assessment, written down and followed consistently. It focuses on product quality, and does not cover personnel safety in the plant, environmental protection, research and development, or the distribution of finished products.
What Does ISO 22716 Cover?
The standard covers the manufacturing chain for cosmetics, from incoming materials to dispatch. The main areas it addresses include:
- Personnel — training, hygiene, and responsibilities.
- Premises — layout, cleaning, and maintenance to prevent contamination.
- Equipment — suitability, cleaning, and calibration.
- Raw and packaging materials — purchase, receipt, identification, and storage.
- Production — controlled processes for making and packaging product.
- Finished products — release, storage, and shipment.
- Quality control laboratory — testing and the handling of results.
- Out-of-specification products, waste, and subcontracting — how exceptions and outside work are managed.
- Deviations, complaints and recalls, and change control — keeping the system honest when things do not go to plan.
- Internal audit and documentation — checking the system and recording what happens.
Together these turn GMP from an idea into a set of things a facility can be inspected against.
How TNV Uses ISO 22716 as the Inspection Reference Standard
Every inspection needs a benchmark to measure against. For a cosmetics facility, ISO 22716 is that benchmark. As a UAF accredited inspection body under ISO/IEC 17020, we do not judge a factory on opinion or on a generic checklist. We take the requirements of ISO 22716 as the defined criteria and check the operation against them, point by point.
That is what an inspection body means by a reference standard. The standard says what a compliant cosmetics operation looks like. Our job is to verify, independently and on the evidence, whether your facility matches it, and to record exactly where it does and where it falls short. The outcome is not a certificate; it is a clear, factual picture of conformity that you, your buyers, or a regulator can rely on.
How We Inspect a Cosmetics Facility Against ISO 22716
Our inspection follows the structure of the standard itself, so nothing important is left out. In practice, an ISO 22716 inspection by TNV covers the following.
- Document and system review. Before or at the start, we examine your procedures, records, batch documentation, training records, and quality controls, and check that the system on paper matches what the standard asks for.
- Premises and hygiene. We inspect the layout, flow, cleanliness, pest control, and maintenance of the manufacturing and storage areas, looking for contamination risks.
- We verify that equipment is suitable, clean, maintained, and where relevant calibrated, with records to support it.
- Raw and packaging materials. We check how materials are received, identified, sampled, approved, stored, and traced through to use.
- Production and packaging. We observe and verify that processes are controlled, that batches are documented, and that labelling and packaging are handled correctly.
- Finished products. We check release procedures, storage conditions, and how product is held and shipped.
- Quality control. We review the testing arrangements and how results, including out-of-specification results, are handled.
- Deviations, complaints, recalls, and change control. We check that the facility records and manages the things that go wrong, and controls changes properly.
- Personnel and documentation. We confirm training, hygiene practices, responsibilities, and that records are complete and reliable.
Our inspectors work through these using visual inspection, document and record checks, interviews with staff, and sampling where it is needed. We record observations with evidence as we go and keep you informed of progress and any early findings.
The deliverable is a detailed inspection report. It sets out what was checked, what conforms to ISO 22716, any non-conformities or gaps against the standard, and practical recommendations to close them. It is written so a non-specialist can act on it and a regulator or buyer can trust it.
Our UAF Accreditation Explained
This is what separates a real inspection body from a general service provider, so it is worth a moment.
TNV Global Limited (TNV) is accredited by the United Accreditation Foundation (UAF) for inspection, under ISO/IEC 17020:2012 – Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing various types of inspection. We hold that accreditation now, and we keep it through regular surveillance and witnessed inspections.
There are two reasons this matters to you. UAF is a signatory of the IAF MLA and the APAC MRA, the international recognition arrangements that let a report carry weight outside the country it was written in. And our accreditation covers work across most of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. So “internationally recognised” is something we can show you, not just say.
What Our Accreditation Means for You
In practice, it gives you a few things. Your reports travel, because UAF and those recognition arrangements mean our results are accepted across borders, which counts whenever you sell into more than one market. You get real independence, because ISO/IEC 17020 keeps us impartial and clear of any tie to the people we inspect, so what we report is simply what we found. And you always know the boundaries of the job: the field we inspect, the point at which we inspect, the methods we use, and the standard we measure against are all set out before we start.
Why Does ISO 22716 Matter for Your Business?
Cosmetics are regulated, and the bar keeps rising. In the European Union, GMP based on ISO 22716 is part of the regulatory expectation for cosmetic products. The International Cooperation on Cosmetic Regulations, which brings together the US, Canada, the EU, and Japan, settled on this standard as the reference for cosmetic GMP, which makes it the common language for the sector worldwide.
For a manufacturer or brand, that means ISO 22716 is often the difference between reaching a market and being shut out of it. For a buyer or retailer, GMP compliance is reassurance that the products on the shelf were made under control. And an independent check against the standard turns a claim of “we follow GMP” into something a regulator, a buyer, or a partner can actually trust.
Differences Between ISO 22716 and Other Related Standards
GMP for cosmetics sits among several quality standards, so it helps to place it:
- ISO 22716 is GMP specific to cosmetics, focused on how cosmetic products are made, controlled, stored, and shipped.
- ISO 9001 is a general quality management system standard for any organisation. ISO 22716 is narrower and sector-specific, aimed at the manufacturing floor.
- ISO 22000 is food safety management. The idea of building quality and safety into production is shared, but the sector and the hazards are different.
- Pharmaceutical GMP is a separate, stricter regime for medicines. Cosmetics GMP under ISO 22716 is tailored to cosmetic products, not drugs.
So ISO 22716 is the right reference when the product is a cosmetic and the question is how well the factory is run.
Who Should Use ISO 22716?
The standard is built for:
- Cosmetics manufacturers and contract manufacturers who make product for themselves or others.
- Cosmetic brands that outsource production and need to know their suppliers run to GMP.
- Exporters and importers who must meet GMP expectations in regulated markets.
- Retailers and buyers who want assurance about how the products they stock were made.
- Quality and regulatory teams responsible for cosmetic GMP compliance.
How to Arrange an ISO 22716 Inspection with TNV
Getting started is straightforward, and the process follows our ISO/IEC 17020 framework.
- Share your requirement. Reach us by website, email, phone, or WhatsApp and tell us about the facility and what you need inspected. We review the scope against ISO 22716 and send a clear proposal covering method, timeline, and cost. Once you approve it, we sign a short agreement.
- We plan the inspection. We review the relevant documents and records, build the inspection plan around the standard, and assign inspectors with the right experience.
- We inspect on site. We carry out the inspection described above, checking the facility against ISO 22716 and recording findings with evidence.
- We report. You receive the detailed inspection report, reviewed internally for accuracy and delivered within the agreed timeframe.
- We follow up. We answer questions, help you act on the findings, and run follow-up checks where useful. Where full certification is the goal, we route it to the correct scope within the TNV group.
Why Choose TNV Inspection Division?
TNV Inspection Division is an independent, UAF accredited inspection body working under ISO/IEC 17020:2012. Independence and impartiality are built into how we operate, which is exactly what a credible GMP inspection needs. You get an outside party with recognised accreditation, qualified inspectors, and reports your buyers, regulators, and partners can rely on.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
Talk to TNV Inspection Division
Run a cosmetics operation and need an independent, accredited check against ISO 22716? Contact TNV Inspection Division for a clear scope and a free quote.